


So Goes

by Kilieit (p_3a)



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Geographical Isolation, I Don't Even Know, Other, Past Mind Control, ascians - Freeform, patch 2.55: before the fall, patch 3.0: heavensward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-06-14
Packaged: 2018-07-14 22:46:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7194005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/p_3a/pseuds/Kilieit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thancred has a strange experience.</p><p>Set at some point between 2.55 finale and 3.1; includes spoilers for & assumes pre-knowledge of both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Goes

**Author's Note:**

> This was not the fic I intended to write next.
> 
> Includes a headcanon for why he kept the beard, I guess?
> 
> Also s/o to [ao3 user Ozma](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Ozma/profile) because most of my Ascian headcanons are surreptitiously lifted from their works, and also this is entirely their fault. Like, 100%. Sorry that Igeyorhm is probably not very IC here, aha...

"So this is what Lahabrea chose."

So sudden was the voice out of the gloom that Thancred thought he had dropped his salvaged canteen. Only there was no clatter of metal on dirt, no hard-earned water spilling across the campground - for it seemed at the very moment the words had been spoken, Thancred's body had been grasped with unnatural stillness.

He recognised it but a heartbeat later. Ascian magic.

Bile rose in his throat. He couldn't do this again. Not now-- not  _ ever _ , but not now! He had made a promise, ever-stronger than the last - he would return home to Minfilia. But not like this. Never like this.

And yet… the voice that had spoken was feminine, and it had spoken of Lahabrea in the third person. Thancred knew there was no use fighting this creature with might, and with his aetheric potential  _ gone _ after Shtola's Flow, he was left with little recourse but to sit and wait. Observe and reflect, just as Louisoix had taught him. That, at least, offered some comfort.

The Ascian came into view.

Another red mask. Not Lahabrea's; Thancred had seen his enough times in his nightmares to know  _ that _ . It was longer - covering almost her entire face. The body she'd taken was hyuran; or was this a body she'd created? He had no way of knowing. Even having chosen to appear before his eyes, she was a mystery.

Thancred glared. Oh, he did so  _ detest _ how they always had the upper hand.

She didn't speak; neither did he. Oh, she could prise the words he wanted to say from his head if she so desired, but he wasn't sure she'd like them. He got the feeling he  _ was _ being examined, but perhaps - this time, at least - not so intrusively as to infuse his innards with aether. He didn't let his guard down… but he didn't spend years honing his curiosity to  _ not _ wonder what on Hydaelyn she was up to.

Finally, she stepped forward. Ah - here they went… she'd seize control of him, she'd--

He felt a gloved hand at his chin, forcing his face in her direction.

" _ What? _ " Thancred finally demanded.   
Behind the mask, the Ascian betrayed no expression save a faint turning-down of her lips. "Hm."   
"You know, I think I preferred it when your compatriot was  _ monologuing  _ about my front seat for the rejoining. Just  _ what  _ do you think you're doing?"   
"Ah." She let his chin go; of course, with her aether still pressing down on every side of his body, he couldn't exactly turn his head anyway. "I understand now."

Was that  _ amusement _ ? Oh, Thancred had as enough of being  _ entertainment _ for Ascians for a thousand lifetimes. What he wouldn't give to watch the Warrior of Light wrench her from her no-doubt stolen body…

"Your fury is akin to his," she commented simply. "But the facial hair is unlike him. You must have grown it since."

Thancred didn't bother confirming or denying that. She seemed smug enough in her assumptions; his lack of shaving was primarily due to the lack of applicable  _ razors _ in the particular wilderness that Shtola had flung him to, but if it differentiated him from Lahabrea in the eyes of such creatures, then perhaps he would keep it even upon his return.

Assuming that he got that far, of course. If this Ascian meant to possess him, then… well. There was no telling where he would end up next.

And yet… she turned away.  
"You have been very valuable," she said, without looking back. "Despite your efforts in service to the contrary."

And then she - and her aether, and all evidence of her having been here - was… gone.

…

Well.

Thancred was left wondering if he had hallucinated the entire experience; whether he would ever truly be free of Ascians pacing the halls of his mind. This forest - and the isolation it brought with it - was going to be the death of him if he wasn't careful.

He breathed a deep sigh and took another swig of spring water from the battered-up canteen.


End file.
